Mauger supports govt-capped rates rise
Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger is backing calls for the government to cap rates rises.
Cabinet will consider options to control rate rises, including capping, later this year.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has complained of councils' wasteful spending, comparing local politicians to kids in a candy store.
"Councils don't always do a great job of spending your money like you would spend it. There are wasteful projects - there is evidence of that," Willis told RNZ's Morning Report programme yesterday.
"We want councils focusing on the things people expect them to do, which is the rubbish, the roads, the pipes, the basics - and not all the fanciful projects."
Mauger told RNZ he could not agree more.
"Everyone campaigns 'ohh, we gotta stick to basics', right? And then the first thing some of us do is go away and not stick to basics," he said.
"We need to be stronger around the council table to say what's basics. Now ... someone's basic might be someone else's must have ... but it's good to have rates caps. I feel it's good. I really do."
Earlier this year, the Taxpayers' Union launched a campaign calling for rates to be capped at inflation levels.
Mauger imagined a cap closer to 5%, saying his council was "very close to what I'd call the rates cap".
He conceded it would not be possible to cap rates at inflation.
"If it's low as that we would struggle with that. I think to get down to 2 percent, if the government put a rates cap at 2 percent on it, I think there's a lot of problems."
Christchurch City Council had approved average rates increases of 6.4%, 9.9% and 6.6% this term, as a result average rates bills had climbed almost 25% in the city this triennium, while inflation had only risen about 8% during that time.
Willis told Morning Report she expected push back from councils "because when you take candy away from kids in a candy store, they don't really like it. But at the same time, we are on the side of ratepayers".
Asked if he was acting like a kid in a candy store, Mauger told RNZ: "No - when it's my own money, it is. But when you're spending other people's money, [rates caps] are good".
"If we had money running out of our ears, you'd spend it on other stuff. We haven't got that at the moment."
He agreed with Willis that councils had engaged in wasteful spending, and when asked for an example he pointed to cycleway spending.
"We've wasted money on how we have designed and built cycleways. Now I'm not against cycleways but we can build them one hell of a lot cheaper - a lot, lot cheaper," Mauger said.
The council had budgeted $210.4 million for new cycleways, improvements, and cycleway and footpath renewals over the next decade in its long-term plan.
However, that only accounted for 3.2% of its budgeted $6.5 billion in capital spending.
With major projects, such as Christchurch's new stadium and new sports complex almost complete, rates pressure would ease in the future.
But Mauger said the council still needed to find other ways to cut its cloth.
"What we've got to look at is our levels of service now.
"Everyone expects when they walk out the door, they expect the footpath to be half-good, they expect the gutter to be falling the right way, they expect the water to be not leaking out of the ground, the grass mowed and rubbish picked up - that's what they expect.
"If we backed off and didn't mow the grass as often or didn't pick up the rubbish as often, that's how we could save some money. I can't say that's how you would, but that's how we can do it quicker and easier."
Rates caps had been panned by Labour leader Chris Hipkins - who said it would make the problem worse not better - and Local Government New Zealand president and Selwyn District mayor Sam Broughton - who said capping rates could be "disastrous for communities".
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Alexander said she stood by the work of her organisation and had not been contacted by either the Commerce Commission, or the ECC. The Early Childhood Council claimed Alexander and her website - the 'Office of Early Childhood Education' (OECE) - was "deliberately misleading" and confusing parents and childcare centres. The website publishes newsletters and articles about the sector and ECE centres, and states that Alexander is the "Chief Advisor". Until recently it said the "Office" was the "lead public advisor on early childcare and education". The website says it is the "national body for the sector and leading authority on ECE", and represents "all stakeholders and parts of the sector". It has a "specialist ECE newsroom" with paywalled articles, some of which include details of coronial inquests and criticisms of childcare centres and policies. The earlier version of the OECE website. Photo: Screenshot/Office of Early Childhood Education Website The updated version of the OECE website. Photo: Screenshot/Office of Early Childhood Education Website Before it was changed not long ago, the OECE organisation had a group called the "Early Childhood Advisory Committee" (ECAC), which is the identical name of a Ministry of Education entity. "This is not connected to the Ministry's official Early Childhood Advisory Committee. The Ministry has noted that the naming of this internal OECE group has caused some confusion within the sector," ministry deputy secretary of policy Andy Jackson said. "The Ministry's ECAC has a different membership and mandate and operates under formal terms of reference to provide advice on government initiatives and the operation of early childhood education at a national level." 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Photo: Screenshot/Office of Early Childhood Education Website The Ministry of Education said Alexander was a member of the Ministry's Early Learning Regulatory Advisory Group, which is an unpaid advisory body of around 15 sector representatives. "Dr Alexander's involvement allows her to contribute perspectives on early learning policy, but it does not represent a leadership or decision-making role within the Ministry," Jackson said. Alexander told RNZ she never said the OECE had a decision making role. "But we do provide advice to the Ministry and have done for many years. Until the end of last year, the OECE and MoE had bi-monthly meetings," she said. Alexander said the Ministry has never had an issue with the name of the OECE's advisory group. "In fact, some Ministry officials have said anyone can have an early childhood advisory group - there is no trademark or anything illegal about this," Alexander said. The new 'ECE Advisory Committee' page. Photo: Screenshot/Office of Early Childhood Education Website Early Childhood Council chief executive Simon Laube said while the name change was "really encouraging", there were still things the Council considered were "deliberately misleading". "They are not an 'office' at all. Our complaint to the Commerce Commission still stands, we will be very, very interested to see what they make of it," he said. Laube felt Alexander was causing concern and confusion in the sector. "Using things like 'Office of' and calling yourself 'Chief Adviser'... leads many people to think that they are a government department, when they're not," he said. The Commerce Commission said it would contact Alexander. "Following our assessment, the Commission will be contacting Office of Early Childhood Education to remind them of their obligations under the Fair Trading Act," general manager of competition, fair trading and credit, Vanessa Horne said. Alexander said she had not been contacted by either the Commerce Commission, or the ECC. She said her organisation's advice was based on years of research and consultation with practitioners, academics and other experts in the field. Others in the sector are also worried about Alexander's OECE website, and her advocacy work. Montessori Aotearoa NZ chief executive Cathy Wilson told RNZ that while Alexander's heart may be in the right place, her claim on the website that "The OECE is the national body for the early childhood sector and public advisor on ECE in Aotearoa NZ" was false. "She is not the voice of the sector. She's absolutely not representing any peak body whatsoever," she said. Wilson said she regarded some of the material produced by the OECE as fearmongering. She said while the changes Alexander had made to her website were promising - the organisation's name was still a problem. 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"She went after them. It's very, very stressful for providers because their reputations are everything - they rely on parents trusting them with their children every day. "I've had people completely in tears. It can be really traumatic for the provider," Laube said. The Ministry said early learning services were encouraged to refer to the Ministry's official communication channels - such as the ECE Bulletin - for accurate and up-to-date information on government decisions and guidance. Alexander said she stood by the mahi she and the OECE did. She said the OECE had a code of conduct that they encouraged all ECE services to follow, and their objectives were highlighting what was best for tamariki, ensuring high-quality care and education and a well-functioning early childhood sector. "We dig deeper. We do OIAs. We ask questions. We draw on research and evidence. We analyse data. We identify lessons that can be learnt and changes that could help to improve," she said. 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1News
24 minutes ago
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RNZ News
an hour ago
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Mahurangi oyster farmers apprehensive about accepting mysterious $10,000 payments
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More than three million litres of liquid discharge has spilled into the Mahurangi Harbour this year. It was more than an entire olympic swimming pool worth of fluid that would include sewage and stormwater. After each overflow, oyster harvesting was put on hold for 28 days to allow for testing for pathogens like Norovirus. Much of the wastewater was thought to come from a pipe on Elizabeth Street in Warkworth, which Watercare last month upgraded with a temporary fix. Watercare programme director Rob Burchell told RNZ in a statement he believed it would reduce wastewater overflows at Elizabeth Street. "We completed the installation of a temporary over-pumping solution on Elizabeth Street that will reduce the frequency and volume of overflows to the Mahurangi River. "This solution includes a manhole chamber that is three metres deep and 1.6 metres in diameter, along with two pumps and a pipeline designed to transfer wastewater across the Elizabeth Street heritage bridge, bypassing the existing wastewater network. "We may be able to bring this pumping solution into service ahead of the commissioning of the Lucy Moore Pump Station, transfer pipeline and new Snells Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant in August. Testing will soon take place to confirm if this is possible. Work is also underway as part of the long-term solution - the Warkworth Growth Servicing Pipeline." Burchell said Watercare was undertaking potholing investigations in and around Great North Road, Elizabeth Street, Queen Street and Kapanui Street to locate existing underground services, which he hoped to be completed by late August. However, a long-term solution to the piping problem on Elizabeth Street in Warkworth was not expected until 2026. 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